LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 1: The Landlady's Task
"Patient: Three-headed Half-Orc, left head severed, head stitching surgery, head reattachment, the patient died from excessive blood loss. Diagnosis fee: One white cat."
"Patient: Louise the Cleft Woman, left forearm fracture, successful bone resetting surgery. Diagnosis fee: One night of companionship from Louise (rejected!) with a debt of 150 copper coins."
"Patient: Miss Kasha the Mermaid, facial disfigurement, successful skin graft surgery. Diagnosis fee: Miss Kasha's first night (to be settled) at residence: Sewer, 64 Caffell Street."
...
In the dimly lit study, a thick surgical record book lay open on the desk.
The faint light of the kerosene lamp shone on Charlotte's face, revealing his astonished expression. "This doctor, not only does he not charge proper diagnosis fees, but he also allows debts to be accumulated!"
This was his second day since transmigrating.
As a veterinarian at a state-owned livestock farm and the esteemed master of sterilization in three pet hospitals, Charlotte, the king of side jobs among workers, managed to roll himself to death.
Rolling isn't a disease, being poor is.
With his parents deceased, his grandfather borrowed money to raise him, and after graduating, he still had outstanding student loans. Then, his grandfather fell ill and passed away, leaving him with another 100,000 in debt.
The unrepayable debts made Charlotte extremely money-minded, as only money could provide him with a sense of security.
And he had always been lacking in that security.
After confirming his transmigration, Charlotte briefly panicked and immediately checked his wallet, finding only seven copper coins.
He searched through the entire clinic, even inspecting the jars in the kitchen that contained strange organs.
He confirmed a terrifying fact—he was still a penniless bum.
Charlotte: Dammit!
Absorbing fragments of the original host's memories, whose name was Charlotte, he was a doctor who owned a private clinic and had some reputation in the Abyss.
Sounds decent, right?
But this wasn't Earth; it was a strange and fantastical world called the Isor Continent, where dragons, demons, orcs, elves, dwarves, and humans coexisted. Vampires, patchwork creatures, ghouls, and monsters roamed the wilderness.
Compared to the neighboring Free City of Calva, the underground city known as the "Abyss" was synonymous with chaos and disorder.
Gangs exploited the common folk, addictive potions were rampant, criminals, monsters, and patchwork creatures lurked in the shadows, and succubi solicited business on the streets.
This place was filled with poor bastards everywhere!
You cannot determine whether the next patient is a vampire or a patchwork creature, and there is no guarantee of receiving the diagnosis fee.
Being a doctor entails extremely high risks and low returns.
However, in Charlotte's memories, he was once the esteemed pride of the Calva Medical Academy—a gifted alchemist, a senior mage specializing in fourth-tier healing magic, a promising star physician with a bright future, and the envy of many!
Due to his advocacy for medical reforms and promotion of surgical procedures, he was not accepted by the traditional medical community.
Facing judgment from the Church, he was expelled from the Physicians' Association, had his medical license revoked, and became the shame of the Calva Medical Academy—a fallen alchemist, a despicable butcher!
Subsequently, he ended up in prison due to several surgical accidents and lost his magical abilities.
After one year of imprisonment, his fiancée broke off the engagement, and he was expelled from Calva. Helpless, he entered the Abyss and opened this private clinic to make a living.
"It's like starting in hell!" Charlotte felt a chill in his heart.
"Calm down! At least now you're a legitimate doctor with your clinic. Surviving should not be a problem." Charlotte tried to calm himself down and then attempted to recall his medical-related memories.
Ten minutes later.
Charlotte's gaze became vacant, and his hands and feet turned cold.
All his memories related to medical skills and alchemy were completely missing!
Although the surgical mortality rate of the original host's patients was alarmingly high, even simple procedures like finger reattachment had resulted in fatalities.
But he was, after all, a doctor, and he had received formal medical training.
Medical skills were his foundation in the Abyss.
And now that foundation was gone!
Charlotte felt a bit lost. Although he had some tangential knowledge about medicine due to his profession, he was ultimately just a veterinarian.
At best, he had played a doctor simulation game.
Having him treat people?
Wouldn't he become a real medical butcher?
Walking back and forth in the study, Charlotte suppressed his panic and began to assess his current situation.
Today was a business day, and there were already three scheduled patients listed in the memorandum, with more expected to come.
If he couldn't provide proper diagnosis and treatment, he wouldn't be able to handle those terrifying patients.
Run away?
He couldn't enter the haven of Calva for sure.
Should he risk being ravaged by patchwork creatures in the wilderness or get tangled up with the underworld lurking in the shadows of the Abyss?
What worried Charlotte the most was the lack of money.
Cash assets: seven copper coins. In terms of purchasing power in the Abyss, it was roughly equivalent to seven Chinese yuan, just enough for a pancake and a bowl of porridge for breakfast.
Although he had no significant debts, the rent was due soon, and the landlady, who appeared kind and friendly, was rumored to have eaten three previous tenants.
Money! Money! Money!
Unexpectedly, even after transmigrating, earning money was still an inescapable destiny for him!
Leaving the study, Charlotte began to carefully assess the clinic.
The wooden entrance gate stood three meters high, and upon entering, there was the consultation room with a stone bed to the right.
Directly behind the counter facing the entrance was a row of cabinets. On the upper shelves of the cabinets, there were dozens of glass bottles filled with magical potions in the shape of water droplets.
On the lower shelves, there were dozens of glass jars containing various bizarre organs soaked in blue liquid—eyeballs, hearts, fingers...
At first glance, Charlotte noticed a black heart immersed in one of the glass jars in the corner, and it was still beating!
These were the most valuable assets of the clinic. Even low-level stamina-recovery potions could be sold for 100 copper coins.
Although his related memories were missing, fortunately, the original host had a habit of keeping a diary.
Skipping records of walking alone in dark alleys and generously helping a succubus lady, Charlotte found some descriptions of the potion's effects and partial formulae in the diary.
The various organs were left by the patients who died on the operating table without being able to pay the diagnosis fee. Charlotte would collect some of these organs as payment.
To the right of the consultation room was the operating room. When he pushed open the door, a putrid stench, which not even the scent of potions could cover up, wafted in. Splattered blood stains adorned the walls.
On the shelf next to the stone bed, there hung a rusty saw with bits of flesh, a blood-stained knife, and a heavy hammer weighing over ten kilograms resting nearby.
It looked more like a crime scene no matter how you looked at it.
"It's even dirtier than a slaughterhouse..." Charlotte shook his head as he looked around.
There were completely unsterilized surgical instruments combined with an extremely unsanitary surgical environment. It was a miracle that patients could even get off the operating table.
The second floor served as the living quarters, which Charlotte had familiarized himself with the previous night.
In addition to himself, there was another resident in this clinic.
Exiting the operating room, Charlotte's gaze fell upon the white cat sitting on the counter.
It was a lion cat with golden and blue heterochromatic eyes, long white fur, and an especially long mane around its neck, resembling a small white lion.
Its delicate pink paws were crossed, displaying a rather elegant posture.
This white cat was the payment received from a three-headed half-beast-man who died on the operating table. It had just arrived at the clinic three days ago and was approximately one year old.
"Meow~"
Noticing Charlotte's gaze, the white cat retracted its paws, slightly arched its back, and raised its tail slightly while baring its teeth, issuing a low growl as a warning.
Charlotte took a small fish snack from a nearby bag and threw it in front of the white cat, smiling and saying, "Don't be nervous. I don't intend to eat you. I'm counting on you to help catch mice."
The white cat glanced at the fish snack in front of it, then back at Charlotte, seemingly torn.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just then, an urgent knocking on the door suddenly resounded.
Biting into the fish snack, the white cat swiftly hid under the cabinet, seeming to limp with its left front leg.
"Patients already arriving so early?" Charlotte was startled but reassured himself in his mind, "Even with a mortality rate exceeding seventy percent in routine surgeries, I should be able to handle it, right?"
"I am Charlotte. I am Charlotte. I am Charlotte..." Charlotte silently repeated his name in his mind. Opening the door to welcome the guest meant fully accepting the fact that he had transmigrated and deciding to start afresh in this world as Charlotte.
Taking a deep breath, Charlotte, with a calm expression, pulled open the door.
It was just dawn, and the light filtered through the cracks in the Abyss, diluted into a pale glow mixed with the coal smoke haze.
Standing amidst this hazy white mist was a woman.
Silver hair cascading down to her waist, delicate and alluring features, especially her bewitching fox-like eyes, seemed to possess an enchanting charm.
She wore a form-fitting ice-blue gown, accentuating her slender waist and amplifying her ample bosom. A gentle breeze lifted the hem of her dress, revealing snow-white and shapely legs, while her red high heels gleamed like fresh blood!
She was a fairy!
Charlotte looked at the woman at the door and smiled, saying, "Madam Diana, what brings you here?"
"Today is rent day, you haven't forgotten, have you?" The woman looked at him with a charming smile, her eyes exuding a touch of allure.
"Well..." Charlotte's face showed a hint of difficulty. This woman was none other than the landlady he couldn't afford to provoke according to his original memories.
He only had seven copper coins in his pocket now, which fell short of the 3,993 copper coins needed for the rent.
"No money?" A deeper smile appeared on Diana's enchanting face as she leisurely said, "In the Abyss, not paying rent on time can have serious consequences."
As soon as her words fell, a rock troll kicked open the door of a tailor shop across the street, dragging out a drunken goblin tailor.
The burly rock troll, standing on the street, ruthlessly smashed the small and frail goblin with his hammer. The sound of bones breaking accompanied the miserable screams, and blood splattered three meters away. Onlookers could only watch from a distance.
"Three days and another three days! You have money to drink but no money to pay rent! You paupers should all be beaten to death and thrown into the wilderness to feed the dogs!" The voice of the rock troll thundered, causing the nearby shopkeepers to shrink back, while the goblin on the ground had already lost its human form.
Charlotte was shocked by this bloody scene!
It was a common occurrence in the Abyss for someone to be publicly hammered to death for owing rent.
"You see, it's really serious," Diana said with a suppressed laugh.
The rock troll noticed her voice and instantly restrained his arrogance. Looking at Diana with a gaze filled with fear, he bowed respectfully and said, "I didn't expect to see you here. Sorry for the disturbance." With that, he lifted the goblin's corpse and hurriedly ran away without looking back.
Charlotte felt bitter in his heart. The landlady, just standing here, scared away a rock troll who was murdering in broad daylight. What did that imply?
"Madam Diana, I just received a batch of potion materials recently. Can the rent be extended for a few days?" Charlotte mustered up the courage to ask.
"Your past credit has always been good. I can give you three more days," Diana nodded slightly.
Before Charlotte could relax, Diana continued with a hint of playfulness, "If you can't collect the rent, then perhaps you can offer something else to please me. What do you think you have that could satisfy me?"
[Ding! Diana has issued a task to you: Choose an item to please and satisfy her! Rewards upon task completion: 1. Rent deadline extended by three days! 2. Copper coins +100! 3. Likability +10! Failure consequences: Lose a part of your body!]
[Do you accept? Yes! No!]
At the same time, a cold mechanical voice suddenly rang in Charlotte's mind, and a golden question mark appeared above Diana's head.